>From Goa’s forests to India’s f irst coffee table book on tribal cuisine <https://www.heraldgoa.in/author/teamherald/> ByTeam Herald <https://www.heraldgoa.in/author/teamherald/> Published: 12 February 2026 <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldgoa.in%2Fcafe%2Ffrom-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine%2F464067%2F> <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=From+Goa%E2%80%99s+forests+to+India%E2%80%99s+f+irst+coffee+table+book+on+tribal+cuisine&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldgoa.in%2Fcafe%2Ffrom-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine%2F464067%2F&via=oheraldogoa> <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#> SHARE <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldgoa.in%2Fcafe%2Ffrom-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine%2F464067%2F> <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=From+Goa%E2%80%99s+forests+to+India%E2%80%99s+f+irst+coffee+table+book+on+tribal+cuisine&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldgoa.in%2Fcafe%2Ffrom-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine%2F464067%2F&via=oheraldogoa> <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#>
Dolcy D’Cruz In the dense forests of Mollem, Netravali and Mahadev Wildlife Sanctuary, where monsoon mist clings to ancient trees and leeches trail silently through wet undergrowth, Assavri Kulkarni walked with tribal women in search of something far more precious than ingredients. She was documenting memory, survival, and a way of life. Her book <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#>, Forest Recipes of Goa – Stories of Tribal Food <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#>, is being described as India’s f irst coffee table <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#> book dedicated entirely to tribal forest food traditions. “I searched everywhere for a reference. There isn’t a single coffee table book on tribal food in India. That’s when I realised, if it doesn’t exist, why can’t I do it?” says Assavri Kulkarni, a noted photographer and author. ‘Forest Recipes of Goa – Stories of Tribal Food’ by Assavri Kulkarni will be launched today at the 14th Goa Arts & Literature Festival (GALF) 2026 on February 12 at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula by Padma Shri awardee Remo Fernandes. The launch will feature a conversation with Nirmal Kulkarni, along with a special performance by Sattari Baal Vikas Vivah Kala Manch. Published by Goa Forest Development Corporation, the book is the culmination of nearly 25 years of observation and over four to five years of focused work. “The oldest photograph in the book is from 1999, when I was still in college. But the most concentrated work happened in the last two years when I decided I had to finish it,” she shares. Assavri covered Goa’s major wildlife sanctuaries and even the mangrove ecosystems. “Mangroves are forests too. We have recipes using f iddlehead ferns, sea parsley, edible mangrove f lowers and even mangrove salt.” Blending oral histories, rare recipes and striking portraits of indigenous women, the book goes beyond ingredients to capture a disappearing way of life, this book is more than just a recipe book. “It’s about foraging with them every season,” she says. “Most recipes are connected to the monsoon. When the season changes, they know instinctively what will grow, mushrooms, wild roots, bark, fruits. The forest tells them.” For Goa’s tribal communities, the forest is not just food security. It is medicine, ritual, and identity. “The forest is like a pharmacy for them,” Assavri says. “If someone is unwell, they know which leaf or root to gather. Women use certain plants for health issues. Everything has a purpose.” She documents how seeds are preserved for generations, how tubers are catalogued and remembered, and how gratitude shapes their food culture. “They don’t measure ingredients. They cook instinctively. They serve according to hunger. There’s no counting calories. There’s gratitude.” Some preservation techniques left her in awe, “There are jackfruit preparations preserved for ten years. Pickles stored for five or six years. Knowledge passed down silently.” None of the ingredients in ‘Forest Recipes of Goa’ are commercially harvested. “This food is not commercial. It’s seasonal, perishable and hard earned. Mushrooms bloom one day and spoil the next. You can’t package this.” She documents rare varieties like Sondechi olami and chochechi olami, the same mushroom known by different names in different regions and the striking pink Ringli mushroom. One of the oldest recipes in the book is what she calls the “armpit mushroom.” “They wrap mushrooms in forest leaves with salt, tuck them wrinkles. Here, I wanted every wrinkle to show. Every line, every sun mark, every weathered skin tone tells a life story. Most shoots were during the monsoon. Natural light was scarce. Many times we removed roof tiles to let light seep in. I carried lights through treks. But I wanted it to look real, not styled like five-star food. The women were photographed as they were. No dressing up. No styling. Otherwise, they came just as they were, sometimes barefoot.” The book documents seven varieties of khatkates in Goa, especially the Kunbi version made entirely from tubers. Goa has around 18 types of tubers and shoots, all catalogued visually. Scientific accuracy was another challenge. “Foraging has to be precise. Someone can’t eat the wrong plant and fall sick. I worked with botanists. Some species are still unknown, possibly new species,” she says. in their armpits and walk. Body heat cooks them. When they reach their destination, they eat it as a snack. This was shared with me 10–15 years ago. From that day, I knew I had to document these recipes,” she explains. Each chapter blends recipe, portrait and oral history. When foragers enter the forests, they offer gratitude to the spirits. They thank the forest for keeping them safe from snakes or wild animals. The book <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#> is deeply women-centric. “Most of the knowledge holders are women. Many are in their 80s, 90s, even above 100. They were so happy someone from the city was interested.” Documenting these recipes was not without danger. Besides the threat from wildlife, these brave women have to come face-to-face with natural dangers too. From lightning struck trees beside them to snakes slithering past them. Yet, they walked into the dense forest guiding Assavri, who was geared with her camera and tripod. As a photographer, Assavri made a deliberate aesthetic choice to tell the story as it was. Speaking about her challenges of photographing, she says, “In fashion photography, we hide Besides the tribal women of Goa who opened their homes, kitchens and forest paths to her, Assavri pays her gratitude to Naia Kulkarni Nirmal Kulkarni, Nandini Naik, Kaushalika Dharmadhikari, Vikram Hosing, Swati Naik, Nanda Majik, Sushama Majik, Namdeo Gaonkar, Victor Gomes, Sonia Rodrigues Sabharwal and her photography teachers, Anthony D’Sousa and Willy Goes. The book also includes recipes remembered from her grandmother, who lived among Kunbi communities in Quepem. There are yam flowers cooked with prawns, grass breads made by the Dangar community, and ritual uses of mangrove leaves and anthill mud. More than a cookbook, ‘Forest Recipes of Goa’ is an archive of oral knowledge, ecological wisdom and feminine resilience. In documenting them, Assavri she hasn’t just created India’s first tribal food <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#> coffee table <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/#> book. She has preserved a forest memory before it disappears into silence. Goa History Book https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/from-goas-forests-to-indias-f-irst-coffee-table-book-on-tribal-cuisine/464067/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا _/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha _/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa _/ Goanet :: 30 years of discussions. [email protected] _/ http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CA%2Bmqab-v%3D0g8S_7nqdhsEVNqGRtkMVfFnZfHqdWHUi0xf4JTrw%40mail.gmail.com.
